The introduction of  Videoscape is part of Cisco's overall video strategy for the next generation of television. It is collaborating with a number of global service provider customers, such as Telstra (News - Alert), to enable next-generation video experiences through the new platform.

Videoscape is an open platform that uses the cloud, the network, and client devices to deliver video experiences via the Internet. In the home, the Videoscape media gateway integrates voice, linear and online video, high-speed data, Wi-Fi, and network traffic routing. The platform’s IP set-top box is engineered to support all forms of video delivered to a television, such as pay TV, broadcast channels, premium channels, and the Web. Videoscape software clients extend the experience to a variety of devices, from connected TVs to tablets and smartphones.

The Videoscape Media Suite offers full life-cycle content management so that service providers can efficiently and cost-effectively manage and publish content across multiple screens. The Cisco (News - Alert) Conductor for Videoscape orchestrates various services and subscriber-management functions across the cloud, the network and client devices.

For consumers, Videoscape gives easier access to more entertainment options, from multiple devices, from a variety of sources. Videoscape has network intelligence built in to enhance Internet video on the television and to deliver the quality needed for a higher-resolution viewing experience.

Through Videoscape, Cisco provides service providers with a means of expanding their business models by differentiating service providers’ video offerings from those of their competitors, possibly through new capabilities such as application delivery, home telepresence and in-video e-commerce. Service providers can also monetize activities outside their traditional network or device footprints.

Cisco’s Videoscape continues the company’s efforts to make inroads into the consumer market and all things video, escalating the battle for a starring role in Internet television that has already seen the introduction of a home videoconferencing system. In this effort, Cisco has encountered competition from newcomers to the consumer market, such as Polycom.